


The Terror of San Angel

by SwedishTaco



Category: Book of Life (2014)
Genre: Curiosity killed the cat, Fluff, Humor, Multi, One Shot, Pre Cannon, Spiders, and then they forgot about it, i thought it was funny, playful pranks, post cannon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 07:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3683772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwedishTaco/pseuds/SwedishTaco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens when Manolo and Joaquin come across a daddy long legs nest with spectacular results...then promptly forget about it. It's only later after Maria returns that they are reminded of that horrible day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Terror of San Angel

**Author's Note:**

> This cute little fic spawned after seeing an episode of outrageous acts of science, and I thought it would be hilarious. Enjoy!

“What do you think it is?” Manolo asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Dunno.” Joaquín replied, leaning closer and squinted at the thing.

This wasn’t the first time they had run across the mysterious thing. They had started seeing them all over San Angel now that it was spring time. Strange thing was, they never saw them in direct sunlight; it was always in a shady spot. Neither one could remember seeing the things before, and they wanted to know what they were.

After spotting several earlier they had decided after their training for the day, they would meet back up and find out once and for all what the things were.

The two boys watched the thing from a safe distance away, unsure of how to approach it. They had managed to find one that was in an easily accessible spot, but neither was brave enough to get too close to it. The thing was black and fuzzy looking, mounded up in a flat ball.

The thing looked like it would be soft to the touch, and easy to pick up, but neither had the courage to be the first to do so. No one liked being a guinea pig after all.

“What are you waiting for? Go get it!” Joaquín nudged Manolo with his shoulder.

“No way! You’re the one who does all the heroic stuff!” The guitarist jabbed his elbow into Joaquín’s side.

Joaquín gave Manolo a little shove, which the guitarist returned in kind. It devolved into a slap fight, which Joaquín got the upper hand in, pinning Manolo to the ground and sitting on his chest. Manolo flailed around for a while, but he wasn’t big, or strong enough to push Joaquín off of him.

“Get off!” Manolo wiggled around, trying anything to dislodge Joaquín. After several minutes of failed attempts, the guitarist stilled.

Joaquín looked down at Manolo with a raised eyebrow, “Are you done now?”

Manolo sighed, but nodded. He was relieved when Joaquín moved off him, finding it much easier to breathe. He sat up, brushing off his clothing of any dirt that might have gotten on him. Joaquín offered him a hand to stand up, which he was grateful for. “So…now what?”

“Now, you’re going to pick that thing up and find out what it is.” The older boy said, clapping a hand on Manolo’s shoulder.

Manolo grumbled, eyeing the black clump suspiciously. He took a step towards the thing, sitting idle on a crate in the shade, but stopped. Manolo looked over at Joaquín for support, his eyes held a hint of fear and nervousness.

The young soldier’s nod was stiff, but encouraging. “No retreat?”

“No surrender.” Manolo breathed out. He felt better knowing Joaquín was there with him. But there was nothing to fear right? The fluffy black mass didn’t look dangerous, or even scary. Gaining courage with every step, Manolo reached out as he got to the crate and reached for the thing, easily picking it up. It was lighter than he’d expected. _Maybe this thing isn’t so bad after all…_

He didn’t think he’d ever been more wrong in his life.

Seconds after he’d picked up the thing, it started to disintegrate; Manolo felt the sensation of hundreds of little tickling prickles across his skin. If that wasn’t horrifying enough, when he looked closer at the thing as it broke up, a bolt of cold fear ran through him.

Spiders. Hundreds of tiny little spiders made up the _thing_.

Which he was currently holding.

Which were currently running all along his hands and arms.

Manolo panicked, and screamed.

He didn’t even stop to think about what he was doing before he threw the thing away, failing his arms about to try and dislodge the tiny spiders.

Unfortunately, Joaquín was in the direction that he tossed the rest of the spider nest. A second later, the older boy joined in on his flailing and horrified cries. The two danced around each other, waving their arms around in a blind panic. Manolo hopped around, frantically brushing at his jacket sleeves. Joaquín took the shuffling around and slapping at his arms and chest approach, a long, high pitched wine escaping from him.

During their terrified dance, the two managed to run into each other, landing on the ground in a heap. They scrambled to their feet and took off through the streets, continuing to brush and slap at their arms. As they ran, Joaquín got the bright idea to strip out of his uniform jacket. Seeing this, Manolo followed suit, easily slipping out of his own outer layer.

Once the two boys had fled a decent distance, Manolo stopped and violently shook his jacket around, making sure any left over spiders, if there were any, were thrown off his clothing. Joaquín did the same, shaking and tossing his jacket around. To anyone else who might have seen the display, it would have appeared comical, but it was anything but to them.

When both were sure that there were no more spiders on them or their clothing, they collapsed against the side of the closest building. The two panted, the heat still left over from the setting sun flushing their faces.

Manolo leaned his head back against the building and closed his eyes. He tried to calm his breathing, and the warmth of Joaquín next to him was a comfort. Once his lungs and racing heart had calmed down, he allowed himself to lean against Joaquín, his head resting on the older boy’s shoulder. Manolo felt Joaquín’s shoulder start to shake under him, and for a second he thought that the older boy was trying to push him off.

A moment later, Joaquín let his head fall back against the building and a laugh bubbled out of him. The young soldier’s laughter was infectious, and it didn’t take Manolo much time to join in. Now that the panicked stress had left them, the ridiculousness of it all was finally hitting. A few minutes later, their laughter had degenerated into fitful giggles, the two boys leaning against each other to stay upright.

“You…you should have…seen your _face_!” Joaquín gasped, his cheeks red and tears of mirth in his eyes.

“I could say…the same…to you, _hermano_.” Manolo wheezed, his face buried in the older boy’s shoulder. His hand was gripped in Joaquín’s under shirt, both in support and to ground himself.

Joaquín snorted, and it started the whole cycle over again. After their laughter died down, and their sides ached, the young soldier wiped a stray tear from his eye. “Let’s…let’s never mention this. _Ever_.”

“Agreed.” Manolo sighed, patting Joaquín’s arm.

The two never spoke of it again, and in time, forgot it ever happened.

* * *

María trailed behind her boys, happy to be out on a stroll to reacquaint herself with San Angel. She had been thoroughly distracted while in Spain, but it hadn’t stopped her from missing her home. It felt good to be back, once again walking the streets that were so familiar to her as a child.

She had missed the desert heat, and the scenery. Seeing the old buildings that had been rebuilt more times than she could remember put her at ease. The sights and smell of the market brought back fond memories, but it also reminded her of why she was sent away in the first place. María pushed the thought from her mind; what had happened was over and done with.

A smile graced her lips as she listened to Manolo strum on his guitar and hummed a wordless tune. María was relieved that the events from the past several days were over and done with. There was a comfortable balance between the three, now that the dust had settled. María’s smile only grew when she thought about how lucky she was to have both her boys. She watched them as they walked, side by side with little space between them. She didn’t think she’d ever seen them that close before she left…

Something to her right caught her attention, and she stopped. What she saw made her eyes light up. _I haven’t seen one of these in ages!_ María thought with glee. She remembered playing with them when she was little; giggling as she delicately poked them with her finger just to see them scatter. María had found very few in Spain, much to her disappointment. She looked back to see that her boys hadn’t noticed her stop, and a mischievous smirk crept across her lips as she got an idea.

Making sure to keep quiet, she snuck towards the black, fuzzy ball, and with the utmost care, picked it up. She knew she only had a few seconds before the little daddy longlegs started to flee, so María worked quick to get their attention. “Hey, boys! Catch!” She laughed, right before she tossed the lump of creatures towards them.

María watched as they turned, smiling faces glancing in her direction before their cheer melted into sheer terror. Their normally rich skin paled and their eyes turned horror filled. In almost slow motion, she watched as Joaquín raised his arms in defense and Manolo bring his guitar to bear as if that would stop the little spiders from hitting them. But when they did, it was exquisite.

She didn’t know grown men were capable of hitting a pitch that high.

At first, she was completely shocked by the display in front of her. However, as her boys started flailing and jumping around in their panic, a giggle bubbled out of her. As they continued to run around in the ally screaming their heads off and practically tearing their outer jackets off, María dissolved into body shaking laughter. She sunk to the ground when her legs refused to hold up her weight anymore. The idiotic display in front of her was _priceless_.

It wasn’t until she was near cackling that either Joaquín or Manolo noticed her. They halted their strange dance and stared at her, wide eyed. Her fit only became worse at their owlish looks. María gasped for air as Joaquín flapped out his jacket and Manolo shook his guitar, making sure there weren’t anymore little spiders in or on it.

When she had regained her breath, she noticed that neither one of them had approached her. María took a deep breath to calm herself down and stood up, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was going to happen.” She rubbed down her cheeks to clear away any stray tears.

For a long moment the boys were quiet. Then Joaquín blinked and squeaked, “Why would you _do_ that?”

At his frightened tone, María looked down with guilt, and she swung her arms in front of her in contemplation. “I meant it as a joke?”

They continued to stand far off from her, watching her with wary eyes. María couldn’t help but think they looked like two frightened deer. Her heart twinged in pain at putting those looks there.

She sighed, “Look, guys, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen…” María looked at them with hope clear on her features, reaching her hands out to them. It hurt when they looked at her with suspicion. She made her eyes look a big and apologetic as possible. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

A few tense moments passed before her boys appeared to relax, walking over to her and each taking on of her hands. María was pleased when the grips were firm and not hesitant.

“We forgive you.” Joaquín brought her hand to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss.

“But we’ll be holding you to your promise.” Manolo gently ran his calloused thumb over her knuckles.

María had to swallow when their gestures caused shivers to run down her spine. “Of course.” She said, sounding breathless, her interest piqued at what they had in mind.

When they had returned home later in the day, she shook her head in mock exasperation with her boys cuddled up to her after she had read to them to sleep.


End file.
